IL-17 producing NK cells are suspected to be critical for the IL-17 dependent TLR-3 triggered aggravation of experimental asthma

Exacerbations are a typical characteristic of asthma that causes considerable morbidity on patients. The inflammatory phenotype of acute asthma exacerbations has been reported to be characterized by a heterogeneous infiltrate with eosinophils and large numbers of neutrophils in sputum as well as broncho-alveolar lavage (BAL). Epidemiological surveys identified viral infection of the respiratory tract as the main trigger. Double stranded RNA is produced as an intermediate during replication of all major respiratory viruses and can be sensed by toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), which could therefore play a critical rol…